Travel and Covid

Remember when you wanted to go some place and you just hopped into the drivers seat and drove? Unless you were going to the US and had to remember your passport it was just an engine start away. Seems like a distant memory but in reality it was not that long ago.

Next week I am heading to Quebec, just 2 days past where I am going is one of my top 10 bucket list items…. Newfoundland. Ohhh I so want to go. It is so close.

You would think the first thing I would look at would be how to get on the Island but in this covid world, the first thing I had to look at was the covid restrictions. I read they would be opening up to Canadians July 1st. How open? I had to go to their website. You had to be fully vaccinated to get in without difficulty. I am only partially vaccinated and though I am allowed in there are protocols I have to follow. Unvaccinated requires a 14 day isolation.

I did not plan on getting any vaccine. I have a kickass immune system and do not even get colds very often. The only reason I got it was so that I could travel. I have my own reasons for avoiding prescription medication. I have never been a take a pill kind of girl. I believe in my own immune system and building it so that it does what it is supposed to do. When I do get a cold or flu I ride it out with lots of water, hot water and lemon and spoonfuls of natural honey.

I also had to make a decision. Whether I like it or agree with it, the world is headed for vaccine passports. I have based my retirement on travelling and creating my brand of Chipmunks RV Life. My dream of writing and sharing my adventures with as many people as possible depends on me being able to travel. Working within whatever laws are in place to allow me to do that is something I must do. Soon I hope the US border will open up and I can hug some very important people and meet a couple of very important people. I can also “pop over the border”, seems strange now saying that, and pick up my author copies of my book. Shipping was just too expensive to get them here in any kind of quantity. I can only order my authors copies to an American address as I self-published with Kindle. I am certain that a double vaccination will be required. Route 66 and the Oregon trail await me. I must be able to go.

As I wait for the US Border to open my sights turned to Newfoundland and the protocols I must follow so I can go watch an iceberg float by. As I am partially vaccinated I must supply a negative covid test. It must be a molecular test taken within 3 days I land on the island. This is going to be tricky but how bad do I want to go? Bad enough that after the van event I will find a place to get the test done in Quebec.

Now that I have found that information I can move to the more fun information of how to get to the island. There are only 2 ways, by ferry or by plane. Obviously I cannot get my oh so pretty van (we will get to that) on a plane so the ferry is the viable option. Did you know there are 3 ferries? Two from Nova Scotia and one from Quebec. The two that run from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland are 8 and 12 hour trips. It would cost no less than $350 one way for my van and I. I looked at the one that runs from Blanc-Sablon in Quebec to St. Barbe Newfoundland. It is only approximately 80 minutes long and about $40 one way. Ok that’s my kind of ferry ride. I am not much of a boat person. I like my wheels on land. Lol!

Newfoundland holds so much exploration for me. The icebergs, the whales and the sunsets, there is so much to see. Doing some research I came across The ruins of a Viking Village. In a place on Newfoundland North East shore is a place called L’Anse aux Meadows. It is said that it may be the first European settlement in North America and the only Viking Village. From the National Historic sites on Parks Canada website this precious piece of history is over 1000 years old. A tour is available to hear about how the vikings landed from Greenland and I am excited to see the artifacts they left behind.

The excitement of a roadtrip is also mixed with a little anxiety. I have traveled many times on my own but I am also now travelling in a new world. A masked world. I cannot wear a mask (I do wear a face shield) and that has probably been my biggest worry in all of this. I have been exposed to sometime brutal behaviour towards me because of it. Has it changed me? Yes very much so. There are things I do differently. I am not as free to walk into a store or even walk outside (although that has lessened) as people wearing masks. But in the end I have to go back to living my life. We are only given moments and I have a few more things to see and do before my moments are up. So bravely with some trepidation I move forward to feel the road under my wheels, window down, wind in my hair, breathing that fresh breath of freedom it brings with it.

The work on the van continues. This week the decals and pinstripping came in and we put them on. Derek Moore did such a beautiful job on creating the decals and a perfect match to the pinstripping. Since I cannot draw a straight line with a ruler I talked my friend Mike to put them on. It turned out beautifully. Tom put my new bug deflector on (I broke the other one) and the renovations are almost complete. I am so pleased the way she is turning out. It is like she is a whole new van. I think she likes her new look too. Hopefully the surprise I am waiting for will arrive before I leave next week.